Folding frame for bicycles



' (No Model.) 6 v F. A. REYNOLDS.- FOLDING FRAME FOR BICYLES, Gac.

No; 576,696. Y Patented Peb. 9, 1897.

NiTn STATES ATENT FFICE..

FRANK ARTHUR REYNOLDS, OF LEVISTON, MAINE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO STEPHEN H. MANNING, OF SAME PLACE, AND. IIERSCHELI C. PARKER, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

FOLDING FRAME FOR BICYCLES, SLC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 576,696, dated February 9, 1897.

Application letl April 22,1886.

To all whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK ARTHUR REY- NOLDS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lewiston, in the county of Androscoggin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Frames for Bicycles or Similar Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadrto the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to the frames of bicycles and similar vehicles, and the object thereof is to provide a frame for vehicles of this class which is adapted to be folded laterally, so that the front part thereof may be turned or folded adjacent to the rear part;

`and with this and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which- Figure lis a side view of a bicycle the frame of which is made according to my invention;v

Fig. 2, a similar view showing the parts of the frame folded according to my invention; Fig. 3, a sectional detail of the construction which I employ, and Fig. i a plan view thereof.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, reference being made to Fig. l, I have shown a bicycle of the usual form, the forward upright rod A and the rear upright rod B being connected by a top horizontal rod D and a bottom rod M, which extends from the support of the pedal-shaft upwardly and forwardly to the rod A, and in the practice of my invention the rods D and M are composed of two parts or sections, the sections of the rod D being designated by the letters cl and cl2 and the sections of the rod M by the letters m and m2. The separate sections of each of these rods are united by means of a novel coupling or joint, whereby the forward and rear parts of the frame are adapted to be folded together, as shown in Fig. 2, and in coupling or connecting these separate sections I Serial No. 588,575. (No modell l separate parts, one of which is composed of a shaft G, having a cylindrical head g, on which is formed a disk or jaw g2, and the other consists of a jaw H, having a cylindrical head 71, on which are formed two circular side jaws h2, and the disk or jaw g2 on the shaft G is inserted between the jaws h2 on the shaft H, and said jaws are pivotally connected by means of a pin or bolt E,which is passed therethrough, said pin or bolt, in the case of the coupling of the separate sections of the rod D, being eccentrically arranged in said disks or jaws, as shown in Figs. l and 3.

The shafts G and Hare insertedinto tubular plugs K, which are mounted in and secured to the inner ends of the sections of the rod, and the inner ends of said shafts are provided with annular grooves 7n, which are adapted to receive pins or plugs L, which are passed through said sectionsand thro ugh said tubular plugs and into vsaid grooves, and by means of this construction the shafts G and II are each free to revolve in the ends of their respective sections of the rod or rods, and, as will be readily understood, the separate sections of said rod or rods may be revolved on the coupling-pin E.

The coupling device employed in connecting the separate sections m and m2 of the rod M is of precisely the same construction as that hereinbefore described, and shown in Figs.l 3 and 4, with the exception that the coupling-pin E is preferably passed centrally through the jaws of the coupling device, as indicated in Fig. l.

It will be understood that the coupling devices are free to revolve in the separate sections 'of the rods which are coupled together thereby, and when the frame is in the position shown in Fig. l the said coupling devices or the jaws thereof are in the vertical position, and when said coupling devices are in this position the frame will be rigid and may be operated in the usual manner. When tions of the frame together, as shown in Fig. 2, the coupling devices must be turned so that the jaws thereof will be in a horizontal position or the dat surfaces be directed upwardly and downwardly, and in this position it is desired to fold the front and rear por- 9 IOO of the coupling devices the front and back portions of the 'frame maybe folded together, as shown in Fig. 2. This device is simple in construction and operation and perfectly adapted to accomplish the result for which it is intended, and it will be found of great service in packing bicycles and similar vehicles for shipment and other purposes, and in storing the same, only about half the space being required for this purpose which is ordinarily required or when the frames of such vehicles are made rigid, as at the present time.

It is evident that the coupling device here* in described may be applied to other objects and used for other purposes than for coupling the separate parts of the frame of a bicycle together, and my invention is not limited to the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts herein described, and it is evident that changes in and modifications of the construction herein described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacriiicing its advantages, and I reserve the right to make all such alterations therein and modifications thereof as fairly come within the scope of the invention.

Having fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A bicycle or similar vehicle in which the upper horizontal rod and the lower rod which extends from the support of the pedal-shaft upwardly and forwardly to the upright rod are composed of separate sections, said sections having pivotal connections by universal coupling devices, said devices consisting of twoseparate parts one of which is composed of a shaft havin g a cylindrical head on which is formed a disk, and the other consisting of ajaw II, having a cylindrical head on which are formed two circula-r side jaws,whereby the front and rear portions of the frame may be folded together on said pivotal connection as an axis, said coupling device being revolubly mounted in the separate sections of said rods, whereby the separate portions of the frame are held in a rigid position and are revolved or turned to unlock the parts and permit the folding together of said portions, substantially as shown and described.

2. A bicycle or similarvehicle, in which the rods which connect the forward upright rod of the frame, with the rear portion thereof, are composed of sections, said sections being united by universal coupling devices, said coupling devices each consisting of two parts, and each of which comprises a shaft, on the outer end of one of which are formed two circular jaws, and on the outer end of the other, a single central jaw or disk, said jaws or disks being connected by a coupling-pin which is passed therethrough, and said shafts being free to revolve in the separate sections of the rod or rods, substantially as shown 'and de scribed,

3. The herein-described coupling device for pipes or rods, which comprises two tubular heads, to be secured in the ends of the pipes or rods to be coupled, and two circular heads provided with shanks which are :revolubly connected with said tubular heads, said circular heads pivotally connected, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of thesubscribing witnesses, this 6th day of April, 1896.

FRANK ARTHUR REYNOLDS.

Iitnessesz FRED N. SAUNDERs, STEPHEN Il. LIANNING. 

